Aircraft commonly utilize relatively thin strips of material, or “stringers,” oriented longitudinally parallel to a central axis of the aircraft to provide strength and stiffening characteristics to the skin covering the fuselage. Existing aircraft fuselages are typically manufactured in cylindrical sections that are joined end-to-end to create a fuselage having the desired length. In manufacturing a fuselage section, a number of stringers are bonded to the skin such that each stringer terminates at the fore and aft ends of the fuselage section. When the fuselage sections are joined to adjacent fuselage sections, each end of a stringer must be spliced into a corresponding end of a stringer of the adjacent fuselage section. This splicing operation is a tedious, labor-intensive process.
In addition, with each splice in a conventional fuselage configuration, there exists a potential for delamination or other structural failure or fatigue due to common loads and moments induced throughout the aircraft fuselage during flight. To prevent these structural failures, splice plates and fasteners are typically used, which significantly increase the weight and cost of the aircraft.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is presented.